
Support Lorie Tripp's Battle against Brain Cancer
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Hi, my name is Heather Sonnacchio. My mother Lorie Tripp is suffering from an inoperable form of brain cancer located in the pons of her brain, which controls all vital functions of the body. Lorie and her husband Tom have been travelling from their home in Upstate NY (South Canada) all around the northeast exploring various treatment options given the potential outcome presented by the doctor. We are looking to raise funds to assist in these travel expenses like hotel rooms, gas, food and various medical expenses.
Here's a picture of Tom and Lorie back in the day when they were just two high school sweethearts.
Starting in November/Early December 2022 Lorie began feeling nauseous all the time. She could not keep any food down and she began to lose a lot of weight. In December we noticed some slight asymmetry in Lorie's face. After noticing this, I took Lorie to the Emergency Room at their local hospital to try and get some answers. The medical staff initially thought it was something GI (gastro-intestinal) related but could not determine what it was exactly. The ER sent Lorie on her way which prompted Lorie to schedule an appointment with her primary care provider. While waiting for that appointment, Lorie went back to the ER where they did more scans (aside from an MRI because insurance doesn't like to cover them for some reason...) but could not find anything. When Lorie went to her primary care, they put her on an acid reflux medication and scheduled a scope to look inside her gut. The scope told the doctors that Lorie was suffering from gastritis, for which they gave her more medication that didn't help. After the medication didn't work, Lorie went back to her primary care provider where it was noted she had lost a significant amount of weight and could visibly see the droop in her face. Her primary care provider ordered an MRI where they finally caught the tumor that has been causing all these problems.
Since then, Tom and Lorie have been searching for anything that can help her condition. Here is a list of the things they have gone through so far:
- Seen multiple doctors ranging from local hospitals to the bigger cities (Yale, NYC) searching for different treatment options.
- Biopsied the tumor where it was confirmed to be a diffuse midline glioma which is a terminal brain tumor.
- Went through 6 weeks of radiation (5 times per week)
- Taken chemo pills along with the radiation.
- Signed up and are likely to get into a clinical trial through Yale which would involve a lot of travel from Upstate NY to Connecticut.
Lorie's family and friends are hosting a benefit at the Glenfield 3G Firehall in Glenfield, NY on October 28th from 1PM to 5PM. If you are able to attend it would be much appreciated. If not, we understand and appreciate your prayers and donations. Here is the Facebook event if you'd like to attend.
That's about it so far, we intend to keep this updated so make sure to check in and see how everything is going!
Fundraising team (2)
Heather Sonnacchio
Organizer
Greig, NY
Nicholas Sonnacchio
Team member